Gripping nut-lock.



T. M. MOREWOOD. I

GRIPPING NUT LOCK.

APPUCATION FILED NOV. e. 1914.

,1 1 76,688. Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

SHIN/WM 7 ffu? filo/Mar Ill/orewad THOMAS M. MOREWOOD, 0F ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

GRIPPING NUT-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Application filed November 6, 1914. Serial No. 870,652.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS M. MORE- wooo, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of 135 Westfield avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey, and whose post-office address is No. 253 Broadway, borough of Manhattan, county, city, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gripping NutLocks, set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to means for looking nuts and to take-up means compensating for the stretch of a bolt.

I am aware that look washers have been made from a rectangular plate of spring steel through which a hole has been pierced for the passage of a bolt and about which hole gripping wings are formed by cutting radial slots extending outwardly from the bolt-hole.

The object of one part of my invention, however, is to improve the details of construction of this general class of lockwasher.

It is an object of my invention to facilitate the formation of resilient Wings about the bolt-hole so that the entire edge of a wing may readily. be formed into a gripping member to dig into the under side of a nut. An improved feature of this part of my invention is the formation at the end of each radial slot of a relatively large laterally displaced perforation into which the slot extends tangentially.

Another object of my invention is to produce a cheap lock-washer capable of being locked against back rotation for looking a nut and at the same time taking up the stretch of a bolt. To this end I have in mind specifically a construction embodying an elongated strip of metal bowed in the direction of its length.

The object of another part of my invention is positively to look a nut and to provide take-up means for the inevitable stretching of the bolt, all'in an improved and simplified manner.

The above and further objects of my invention are set forth in the accompanying claims, which should be read in connection With the illustrative embodiments of my invention described in the following specifica tion in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, in which like characters designate corresponding parts, and in which Figure 1 is a cross section through line II of Fig. 2, the bolt and nut being shown in elevation; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of a rail joint showing the application of one part of my invention; Fig. 3 is a detail plan of one form of my gripping lock washer; Fig. 4 is an enlarged fractional section through line IVIV of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a section through line VV of Fig. 3 likewise enlarged and fractional and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a detail plan of a modified spring washer; Fig. 7 is a section through line VII-VII of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 8 is a detail plan View ofmy lock ing plate; and Fig. 9 is a horizontal'sec tion through a portion of a rail joint similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but showing the application to one of the bolts thereof or my locking plate and washer.

In the fractional showin of the rail joint illustrated, 1 is a rail 0 ordinary configuration.

2 and 3 are the fish plates.

4 and 5 are respectively the head and foot of the rail.

6 indicates a bolt of usual construction held against turning by the throat 7 of noncircular cross section with its shank 8 passing through the rail web and fish plates.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the nut 9 18 shown locked by my lock washer 10, one or both of the edges 11 and 12 of which engage respec tively the head and foot 4 and 5 of the rail positively to prevent rotation of the washer 10 about the bolt shank 8. This lock washer 10 is punched or drop-forged from sheet steel which may first be spring, tempered before punching or it may be spring tempered after the desired formation is given to the washer. The washer is provided with a circular hole 13 of a size to pass the shank 8 of the bolt 6. A number of circular perforations or apertures 14 preferably four in number are equally spaced from each other and about the central opening 13.

These circular perforations should be of matire lip 16 between a pair of slots 15 is dished outwardly from the general plane of the plate 10, but each wing 17 (being the portion of each lip 16 partially dissevered by the adjacent circular perforation 14) is warped outwardly throughout its entire extent alongside of the adjacent slot 15, so that the upper terminal edge of this wing 17 forms a gripping edge throughout its entire extent and is considerably higher normally than is the opposite edge 18 of the lip 16. See particularly Fig. 4. This upward warp given to the wing 17 is made possible by the lateral circular perforation 14 so that as a nut 9 is screwed home against the outstanding resilient portions of the lock washer 10 and the dishing is reduced; nevertheless the warping of the wings 17 causes their outer gripping edges to bite into the nut even after substantially all the dishing of the washer has been eliminated by pressure. There is a decided advantage in.employing one of the circular perforations 14 to provide all the weakening of the plate necessary for the warping out of a wing 17. These perforations may be made by a punch which leaves no local sharp corner of weakness in the washer which must be made of relatively thick stock. No slots with their terminal ends of weakness are necessitated in the plate of the washer. The lateral disposition of the perforation is preferred to give the maximum extent to the warpedout portion of a wing 17. Although of course an exact tangential disposition of a slot 15 makes the .full diameter of a erforation available, a substantial tangentlal arrangement is permissible. The actual point desired is that the perforations alone provide all the weakening for the warping out of a wing 17. Laterally extending lips 20 and 21 are illustrated as being a part of the formation of the washer 10, each lip havin a counterbored slot 22 for holding the flare conical end 23 of a rivet 24. It is obvious, however, that when the lock washer is used alone as in the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, that it may be rectangular with squared edges 25 and 26, thus eliminating the lips 20 and 21.

In Fig. 8 there is illustrated a locking plate 27 provided centrally with a socket 28 to fit the nut to be locked. Rivet holes 29 are likewise provided in the lips 30 and 31.

In connection with the use of the locking plate 27 a spring washer is first applied to the bolt shank. Rivets 24 are seated to extend outwardly from the counter-bored slots 22 in the lips 20 and 21. The nut 9 is screwed home with a suitable wrench. The locking plate 27 is applied so tha't its socket 28 engages the nut 9. The rivets 24 'are caused to extend through the holes 29 in the lips 30 and 31 of the locking plate 27. The

heading over of the rivets 24 as illustrated positively holds the locking plate 27 in assemblement. In this structure illustrated in Fig. 9 the configurationof either the spring washer 40 or the locking plate 27 is such as to engage along either its top or bottom or both its top and bottom edges with the outer hanging portions of the rail 1, such as its head and foot 4-and 5.

It is, of course, to be understood that the rivets 24 illustrate merely suitable means for fixing the locking plate 27 to the spring washer 40, which is by no means necessarily limited to the rivet formation shown.

A modified spring washer is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this formation the main body portion 32 of the washer is cylindrically dished or bent while its outer face about the bolt opening 13 is provided with stamped gripping teeth 33, which may be omitted without impairing the spring qualities of the washer.

When the locking plate 27 is employed either the gripping spring washer of Figs.

'1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ma be employed or that of Figs.

6 and 7 or in act any spring washer of construction suitable for taking up the stretch of the bolt and at the same time providing means for preventing the removal of the locking plate 27 For this reason the spring washer in Fig. 9 is indicated by the numeral 40 which designates generically any suitable washer formation, but shows the relative assemblement of the parts.

What is claimed and what is desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is 1. A device of the character described, comprising a plate provided with a bolthole, a straight slot communicating with said bolt-hole and extending radially outward therefrom, an aperture of substantially circular form disposed at the outer end of said slot and into which said slot merges substantially tangentially, said aperture having a diameter much greater than the width of said slot so that said aperture extends practically in a lateral direction from said slot; said plate being thus provided with a wing bounded in part by said slot and said perforation, said wing being resilient and being warped or dished out from the general plane of the plate and providing a radial nut gripping edge located at a little distance from said general plane of said plate and along the side of said slot, said aperture alone providing all the weakening of said plate necessary for the warping-out of said wing at the side of said slot.

2. A device of the character described comprising a plate provided with a centrally located bolt-hole and with a plurality of slots merging into said bolt-hole and extending radially outward therefrom, said plate being further provided with a plurality of substantially circular perforations 3. The combination of a washer provided 20 spaced equi-distant from said bolt-hole and with an axially resilient portion and adaptfrom each other, each perforation having a ed to fit about the bolt and under the nut, of diameter considerably greater than the a nut-locking plate provided with an anwidth of said slot, s0 that-each perforation gular opening for receiving said nut and virtually extends laterally from the slot, holding the same against rotation; means 25 said plate being thus provided with a pluindependent of the bolt and the nut for se rality of internally disgosed wings integral curing said lockin plate to said washer; with it and each ren ered more resilient and means independent of the bolt for holdalong said slot by its proximity to one of ing either said washer or said plate against said apertures, said wings being warped or rotation. 30 dished slightly out of the general plane of In witness whereof, I have signed my said plate and each providing a radial nut name to this specification in the presence of gripping-(ledge lofatid at F litgle 1distanca two subscribing witnesses.

rom sai genera p ane o sai p ate an along the side of said slot; and means inde- THOS' MOREWOOD' pendent of said gripping edges for prevent- Witnesses: ing the rotation of said plate relatively to WAL'roN HARRISON, the device to be locked. L. ALTMAN. 

